684A.85/3–950: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Embassy in Egypt 1
196. Dept reps in Israel and Switz have been given fol info by Israeli reps.
- 1.
- There is possibility Egypt and Iraq might cut off Jordan’s food supplies if Jordan shld reach projected 5-year nonaggression agreement with Israel.
- 2.
- Egypt and USSR have reached agreement in New York whereby USSR would support Egypt in UN in return for “certain agreements”. Egypt now being called upon to make good her commitments and matter intimately connected with Egypt’s present review of her policy with respect to internatl situation in gen and Palestine in particular. Egypt considering alternatives of agreement with Israel or resumption of war.
This for your strictly confidential background info only. Pls comment.2
- This telegram was repeated to New York for action.↩
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In regard to paragraph numbered 2, Ambassador Caffery replied on March 10 that he was “sorry to see Israel put out inaccurate ‘information’ of this sort; it is very bad tactics.” The following day, he reported information from the Egyptian Foreign Office that if Jordan signed an agreement with Israel, Egypt would bring the matter to the attention of the next meeting of the Arab League. The Foreign Office was said to have no other plans at this juncture. Then on March 13, he advised of information from the Jordanian Minister that at no time had the Egyptian Government made threats regarding the Jordanian-Israeli negotiations. These observations by the Ambassador were made in telegrams 233, 238, and 243 from Cairo, 684A.85/3–1050, /3–1150, and /3–1350.
New York advised, on March 14, of conversations with the Egyptian Delegation at the United Nations and concluded that “Considering vagueness of rumor and source we feel it probably should not be taken seriously.” (Telegram 246, 357.AC/3–1450)
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